This particular incarnation of Batman is unique from other live-action movie portrayals in that we actually see him begin as an inexperienced vigilante before becoming the veteran crimefighter we all know and love.

In Batman Begins, Bruce is haunted by his parents being killed. After failing to kill Joe Chill, the man who killed his parents, Bruce meets Carmine Falcone who tells him just how much he does not understand criminals and the crueller aspects of life. Bruce disappears from Gotham to learn about the criminal underworld and trains with the Leagueof Shadows and Henri Ducard. He later returns and as Batman, he attacks the criminal underworld controlling the city and meets Jonathan Crane, AKA Scarecrow. Batman finds himself having to save the city from Henri Ducard, AKA Ra's al Ghul and The League of Shadows, who plan to use Scarecrow's fear toxin to destroy Gotham. Batman does save the day but at the cost of Wayne Manor burning down, his father's monorail getting ruined and the Narrows (a slum in Gotham) being driven insane.

A year later in The Dark Knight, Bruce begins to hope that Harvey Dent can take his place as Gotham's savior, due to Harvey locking many criminals away legally. Bruce also hopes to begin a relationship with Rachel Dawes, his oldest friend, but Rachel is dating Harvey Dent and ultimately chooses Harvey over Bruce. Rachel leaves a letter with Alfred to tell Bruce this. Unfortunately, The Joker appears and brings chaos and violence to Gotham City. Batman eventually triumphs over The Joker, but in the process, Rachel Dawes is killed and Alfred burns Rachel's letter, so Bruce won't be crushed by Rachel choosing Harvey, and Harvey Dent is turned into the vengefulTwo-Face. Batman decides to take the blame for the murders Harvey Dent committed, knowing that Dent needed to remain a hero in the eyes of Gotham and to prevent the arrests of the Gotham mob from being undone.

Eight years later in The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce is retired as Batman but is drawn back into being Batman as Bane and Catwoman appear in Gotham.

Zero-Approval Gambit: He came up with this plan at the end of The Dark Knight to ensure the criminals Harvey Dent locked up stayed locked up. It works for eight years, but it ultimately crashed and burned after Bane reveals what Batman and Gordon did.

100% Heroism Rating: Non-videogame example. At the end of The Dark Knight Rises, when Batman is believed to be dead after saving Gotham, he has earned the respect that he deserves, even getting a statue put up in his honor.

Anti-Hero: A Pragmatic Hero . Has resorted to the Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique on many occasions, including dropping someone off a building and breaking both their legs on one occasion. Has also caused quite a lot of collateral damage with equipment like the Tumbler, and acts jerkish and anti-social in his rich billionaire persona to help hide his activities as Batman, but that's just a Jerkass Fašade.

Handicapped Badass: After suffering a Game-Breaking Injury on his right leg after falling with Two-Face at the end of The Dark Knight, Bruce could barely move his leg at all without the support of a cane. However, he gains a pseudo bionic-like device for his leg to help him keep moving.

Retired Badass: Bruce has not been Batman for quite a while between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, but He's Back for the film. He finally gives the cowl to Robin John Blake at the end of the film, and fakes his death to get out of the job.

Took a Level in Badass: Throughout Batman Begins, which chronicles his journey from frightened child to caped crusader. The Dark Knight Rises did it again, showing him recovering first from years of apathy, and later from severe beating and near death; the result releases certain inhibitions and hardens him enough To match and overpower Bane in their next confrontation. Subverted in that Bane clearly has the physical advantage over Bats in their second fight, though by no means as decisively as their first bout. Batman wins not by overpowering him, but by disabling his mask.

Be Careful What You Wish For: In a flashback in Batman Begins, Bruce expresses that he wants to take Wayne Manor apart brick by brick. At the end of Batman Begins, his entire mansion is burnt down.

Becoming the Mask: Bruce shows hints of this, such as instances where he retains the Bat-voice either when alone or out of costume, and his general obsession with being Batman and embodying his myths. The trope isn't played as strongly as it is in the comics in the 2000/2010 era, though, where he's been characterized as somewhat neurotic.

Beneath the Mask: We see the default Bruce Wayne personality (usually when alone with Alfred, and Catwoman notably brings it out) to be less serious and more mischievous than the ultra-intense Batman. He is more introspective and strategic when out of costume, while as Batman he instead uses incredible focus, cunning, and quick thinking to overcome challenges.

When the Joker reveals that Rachel was abducted along with Harvey, and taunts Batman about it, Batman starts beating him even more brutally, roaring at him to reveal where they were taken.

Bane hits Bruce's breaking point during the first fight of theirs, and after coming back from getting his back nearly broken, Bruce displays the same feral fighting he did against The Joker, nearly killing Bane in the second fight.

If you're a supervillain, do not taunt how you will destroy Gotham, Batman may have that one rule but he doesn't have to save you (Ra's and Talia).

Byronic Hero: He experiences great personal suffering while fighting crime.

Character Development: A large part of The Dark Knight shows his Moral Code solidifying compared to the end of Batman Begins, in response to Joker's aggression. Notably, it seems that the people of Gotham's unwillingness to give in and kill when faced with dire circumstances inspired Batman to take his Thou Shalt Not Kill policy more seriously and save the Joker so he could be properly tried.The Dark Knight Rises shows him overcoming his strict limitations of his own fear and growing past his weaknesses in order to match Bane's monstrous strength. The Dark Knight Rises also shows Bruce coming to terms with how dangerous and draining it is to be Batman, and finding a replacement for him as Batman.

Childhood Friend Romance: With Rachel. Though she ended up choosing Harvey Dent over him, and died without letting him know.

Chronic Hero Syndrome: Bruce continues as Batman regardless of the increasing amounts of injuries he gains. In TDKR, he is shown unable to move on without Rachel or his life as Batman, as she thought before her death. It isn't until the ending that Bruce is able to accept that what he has done as Batman is enough and he can move on with his life.

Combat Pragmatist: Batman has tworules. Everything else is fair game, for instance shooting razor blades into Joker's face to throw off his stranglehold. Early on, even the first rule has been bent a bit when dealing with Ra's al Ghul by refusing to either murder him or save his life, and in some instances with the latter he's thrown shotguns to other people for them to use instead of him.

Conveniently an Orphan: Anyone who's read the comics should know that his origin story was kicked off by his parents being murdered by a mugger.

Cool Garage: The Batcave throughout much of Batman Begins, but when Wayne Manor is set aflame towards the end, Batman uses a literal garage as his base of operations in The Dark Knight. Both make a return in The Dark Knight Rises, as well as a massive flood-able generator room and Wayne Enterprises entire sealed off R&D.

The Cowl: As usual he fights in the shadows with fear and deception. He's there and gone before his target knows what hit him.

Crazy-Prepared: Though not quite as much as his comic or DCAU counterparts, Bruce Wayne sure has prepared for a lot of stuff.

At the end of Begins, Ra's has him pretty soundly pinned. In The Dark Knight, we see that the gauntlets on Batman's new suit have spring loaded scallops, which would help in just such an occasion as the ending of The Dark Knight demonstrates.

Upon receiving catastrophic damage, the Tumbler's ejection system still provides Batman with the Batpod for a speedy getaway, while the source vehicle is designed to self-destruct.

In The Dark Knight, the self-destruct option for the sonar device was most likely included because Batman anticipated that Lucius would not approve of it. Judging by how Bruce built it himself, he probably felt the same way, despite the Joker making it necessary.

The Dark Knight Rises also shows him being too paranoid to release many inventions, using a room that can be manually flooded in an instant for housing an experimental generator, extra batsuits (which comes in handy since his first one gets damaged in the first fight with Bane), and most importantly creating a perfect autopilot program for the Bat while at the same time constantly bemoaning how terrible it is that there's no autopilot, just in case he needs to fool his closest friends into thinking he died in a crash. Which he does at the end so he and Selina can vanish.

At least he also makes sense to not house all of his equipment under a single roof - the reason why Bane does not end up acquiring the Batpod, the Bat, or the extra Batsuits is because it's presumed he never finds out where they are stored, with the backup Batsuit being stored in what was the interim Batcave of The Dark Knight, the Batpod stored in a back alley storage container, and the Bat having camofluage and being placed on top of a skyscraper.

Crimefighting with Cash: The R&D of Wayne Entereprises makes his toys. He also funded a fusion reactor in DKR to fight the energy crisis.

Covered with Scars: To the point where Alfred sternly tells him, "Know your limits, Master Wayne" in The Dark Knight.

Curbstomp Battle: He's on the receiving end from Bane early in The Dark Knight Rises, which breaks his back and lands him in a hellhole prison. Another fight with Bane turns the tables; while Batman has trouble keeping up with his opponent's speed and ferocity in the confines of the crowd, once the fight opens up it becomes evident that Bane really has no chance, as Batman has shrugged off everything he's thrown at him, even when enraged, and now Batman has room to bob and weave and break Bane's arms.

His other love interest, Miranda Tate, comes off as this, as she turns out to be Talia al-Ghul and much more villainous than she first appears; so Bruce's interest in her might count as well.

Deadpan Snarker: As "Bruce Wayne, eccentric billionaire". Batman is more about intimidation then witty one liners, although does his moments as a Silent Snarker.

It becomes more evident when he finds himself in Snark-to-Snark Combat between himself or Alfred, Fox, and Selina.

Death Seeker: In The Dark Knight Rises. Deconstructed. People point out that without fear of death, Bruce can't summon the determination to truly strive for the upper hand and he will continue to lose. He gets better.

Determinator: This was mildly present even as a child. After falling down an old well, Bruce was less worried about his broken arm than he was about the massive swarm of bats.

As Batman, things that will not stop him include: being set on fire while suffering from a weaponized hallucinogen (first film); a SWAT team, about to kill hostages dressed as kidnappers and viceversa (second film). Feral dogs attacking him while being beaten by a crowbar (second film). A police force and 0% Approval Rating under false murder charges, even while chasing Bane and his men (third film). Dislocated vertebrae at the bottom of a prison pit, hundreds of miles away from Gotham, with a time bomb set to explode within a few months.

Does Not Like Guns: "No guns. No killing." He annoys Selina, who says, "Where's the fun in that?!" when he tries to force this code on her during the rooftop fight with Bane's men.

Family Honor: He cares nothing for the social stature of his family name as seen in Batman Begins, but carrying his family's legacy to protect Gotham being his primary motivation. This is established in the very beginning of Batman Begins and elaborated on by the writers in a DVD commentary with the conclusion of The Dark Knight Rises.

Friend to All Children: Consistent with his comic book incarnations. Any kids who meet Batman (the boy in the Narrows, Gordon's son) are entirely unafraid of him, unlike most adults. He also gives food to a street urchin when he himself is starving, rescues teenaged imitators when they get in over their heads fighting crime, and in The Dark Knight Rises, he is revealed to be funding orphanages with Wayne Enterprises' profits. At least, until the money stops.

Game-Breaking Injury: He injures his left leg after falling off a building with Two-Face, and by the time of Rises, the cartilage in his knee has deteriorated to the point where he can't walk without a cane, and wears a powered leg brace while in costume.

Genius Bruiser: While Bruce didn't officially graduate from Princeton, he is fluent in at least two languages, knows enough engineering and electronics to replicate and expand upon existing technology without outside help, exceptional talent in the field of criminology (without formal training, as far as the viewer knows), and he is a good enough actor to fool three of his closest friends.

Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: He spends a large chunk of The Dark Knight trying to figure out what kind of motive The Joker could have for doing what he does. By the time he realizes that The Joker's actions are an end in and of itself, it's already too late.

Great Detective: Downplayed compared to his comics counterpart, who is unequivocally considered The World's Greatest Detective. However, Bruce is still shown to be a bit better than the police in tracking people and things down and solving mysteries; it's usually conflated with his use of technology and forensic skills, and the movies don't involve "cases" so much as "long involved plots" unsuitable for detective work. Interestingly, in these films Bruce doesn't seem to have studied criminology in his travels, which he's generally done in most other incarnations.

Guilt Complex: He blames himself for everything that goes wrong; his dead parents, the people The Joker kills, Rachel's death, and Harvey Dent's Face-Heel Turn. Also, Gotham's almost destruction in Ducard/Ra's hands. Possibly, of losing the Narrows. If the novelization is to be believed, Ducard's death. It's such an Achilles' Heel for him that Bane attempts to use it as a Fate Worse Than Death by the third film... and very nearly succeeds.

Guttural Growler: As Batman. He sometimes uses the voice when uncostumed but talking to people who cannot see his unmasked face. He never drops it while masked, even if no one else is around (since in the third film, he comments "So that's what it feels like" when Selina does a Stealth Hi/Bye on him). Honest Trailers has mocked it in their trailer for The Dark Knight "a gritty continuation of Batman, and his ongoing battle with throat cancer."

Heroes: Batman is the iconic incarnation of the unholy trinity of Heroes, and all three aspects are ever present in the Saga.

Action Hero: He can beat the holy crap out of even a stupidly lopsided outnumbering of mooks.

Guile Hero: His greatest weapon is turning fear against those who prey on the fearful.

Science Hero: He has all those wonderful toys provided by Lucius Fox and his "Applied Sciences Division" at Wayne Enterprises, and can excise clues from even the most mangled evidence.

Heroic BSOD: Rachel's death is the cause of this lasting 8 years between the 2nd and 3rd movie.

Heroic Sacrifice: In The Dark Knight Rises to spare Gotham a nuclear bombing. However, this turns out to not be the case. He left a clue to each of his four Secret Keepers to let them know he was still alive: The Bat's autopilot patch for Lucius, a fixed Bat-signal for Gordon, GPS co-ordinates to Blake for the Batcave, and last and definitely most... fulfilling Alfred's fantasy of seeing Bruce running away from it all with a lady in tow (Selina, no less) in Italy.

In the first film, there is Ra's Al Ghul, a mentor who proved to be an extremist sociopath.

In the second film, there is Harvey Dent, who proves to be Not So Above It All when pushed over the edge by the Joker.

In the last film, there is Miranda Tate/Talia al Ghul. Also he puts a lot of faith in Selina Kyle, and ends up (in his own words) "disappointed." It's subverted in the end, where the faith he has in her ends up bringing out her good side.

Later, Batman, who has been out of action for roughly eight years, gets back in the batsuit, and is able to hunt down and capture several League of Shadow members who were trying to escape a bank robbery. The primary villain Bane manages to get away. Batman dismisses Bane as just another one of Ra's al Ghul's flunkies. When Bruce and Alfred review tapes of Bane's assault on the bank, Bruce brushes away Alfred's assessment of Bane's combat abilities, stating that he'll simply "fight harder". He teams up with Catwoman to go underground and take out Bane, only to be outsmarted by Bane and lured into a trap. It's only thanks to the ensuing Curb-Stomp Battle that Batman realizes just how dangerous Bane really is.

Horrifying Hero: Fittingly, the reaction that this Batman gets out of criminals (and decent folk) is not a "Shining Angelic Crusader of Justice", but rather "Hideous Demonic Giant Bat", believed by the poor folks stuck in The Narrows when their minds were warped by fear toxins.

Hope Bringer: This is his ultimate goal: give hope to the Gothamites that their city does not 'belong to the criminals and the corrupt' and that their lives will get better.

The Idealist: Surprisingly inconsistent with his comic-book counterpart, even though he still possess most traits of a cynical superhero. His desire to use non-lethal force comes from compassion, which is taunted as a weakness throughout the trilogy.

In the Blood: His father was a doctor, and one of his ancestors aided slaves in the Underground Railroad.

Irisless Eye Mask Of Mystery: These films usually avert this trope, but on one occasion in the Dark Knight he acquires this look via a Sonic imager in his mask giving his eyes an appearance similar to the comics.

Ironic Fear: Of bats, even when in the persona of Batman. He gets over this as Batman Begins going from fearing bats to letting them fly around him and ultimately using them to non-lethally defeat SWAT teams.

Jerkass Fašade: Batman's Bruce Wayne persona is only jerkish because he's trying to distract everyone from the theory that he might be Batman. He barely maintains it in The Dark Knight Rises, where Miranda Tate points out that if he really was a shallow womanizing asshole, he wouldn't be so devoted to charity with personal connections to him (such as Harvey Dent, and orphanages), then be crushed when his causes fail.

A Lady on Each Arm: How he sometimes appears at social gatherings as a way of keeping up his "billionaire playboy" persona.

Large Ham: When he is Batman, he has these moments. More so in The Dark Knight and Rises, while in Begins he was usually more subdued.

Legally Dead: William Earle has Bruce declared dead to make it easier to turn Wayne Enterprises into a public company. It doesn't work because Bruce left a will naming Alfred as his benefitiary.

In the beginning of The Dark Knight, he is content to deal with the mob first until the Joker kills one of the copycats that Batman had saved only a few days ago. He turns all of his attention to Joker.

Made of Iron: Batman has fallen off buildings numerous times (half the time not landing on his feet), set on fire, hit by a brick wall from a moving van, bitten by mob dogs, stabbed in the torso by Talia, and taking a huge beating from Bane twice (the same guy punching holes in concrete pillars).

McNinja: Had training along these lines from The League Of Shadows. However, due to their Knight Templar tendencies and want to destroy Gotham with Scarecrow's fear toxin, Bruce left them (violently) and later, left their leader, Ra's al Ghul, to die, after he tried to destroy Gotham.

Megaton Kick: He lands the mother of all kicks on Bane, sending him through a glass door, and then another one sending him flying another few feet. The second one is especially funny, as the victim looks up, dazed, just in time to see it coming.

Not So Different: Subverted. Shortly after Batman attempted to interrogate a mob boss about the Joker's location, the Mob Boss stated that he realizes now that the Joker is more deserving of fear than Batman since the Joker is perfectly willing to kill, unlike Batman.

Obfuscating Stupidity: That shallow womanizing playboy can't possibly be a fercious vigilante that dresses up like a bat, because "a guy who dresses up like a bat clearly has issues".

The Obi-Wan: He gives advise and guidance to John Blake's Luke, a heroic young man who also lost parents to violent death. Except he doesn't die.

OOC Is Serious Business: Several times Bruce mentions that he has not fixed the autopilot, which comes back near the end when he has to fly the bomb away. Barring the fact that he lied, and used it to fake his death.

If he ever threatens to kill someone, you know damn well that a very serious situation is going on.

Reed Richards Is Useless: Lampshaded and Justified in The Dark Knight Rises. When Alfred asks Bruce why he doesn't hand over all his fancy technology to the police for their use, Bruce replies that one man's tool is another man's weapon, and he fears somebody would misuse his technology if it falls into the wrong hands. He's later proven right when Bane steals all of the experimental weapons he has locked away and turns his fusion reactor into a bomb.

It is also pointed out that the prototypes are all far too expensive in terms of the mass production required for a police force, or the military, with the unmodified Batsuit costing at least $300,000.

Terror Hero: Although Batman has inspired hope in Gotham by the time of The Dark Knight (enough to inspire Heroic Wannabes), criminals are scared of Batman. At least until the mob realizes Batman won't actually kill them. While they're still afraid of him, they fear the Joker far more.

That Man Is Dead: As of The Dark Knight Rises, Bruce Wayne has forsaken his Batman identity. That Batman hasn't been seen since the death of Dent.

Technical Pacifist: While he never intends to kill someone, he turns a blind eye to Ra's al Ghul, and accidentally kills several people. The garbage truck driver in The Dark Knight and Ra's in Batman Begins.

Throwing Off the Disability: After reconditioning himself in the Pit during Rises, no more mention is made of his bum knee or broken back.

▄bermensch Part of his Hope Bringer goal is to become a larger than life symbol that will inspire others to change the status quo of Gotham.

Unwitting Pawn: He somehow ends up being this to every Big Bad in the trilogy: he plays into Ra's al Ghul's hands by saving his life and later by raiding Arkham Asylum when Rachel gets poisoned; he plays into the Joker's hands twice, first by bringing Lau in and causing the Chechen to hire the Joker in the first place, and then by luring him into a trap set by Gordon and, as part of Joker's distraction to escape police custody with Lau in tow afterwards, sets off to save Rachel only to end up saving Harvey instead (though the third time Joker tries to get him to play into his hands, he just saves the Joker from falling to his death, having learned his lesson from the first two times); and he plays into the hands of Bane and Talia by chasing the men who had just committed stock exchange fraud against him, trusting Miranda Tate (actually Talia in disguise) with the fusion reactor, and letting Selina Kyle lead him to Bane for their first confrontation.

Used to Be a Sweet Kid: At the end of Batman Begins, Rachel mentions this, though compared to many other examples of the trope this is rather downplayed, as he's still on the side of good.

Vigilante Man: The police see Batman as this in Batman Begins which allows Dr. Crane to call the cops on him. SWAT tries to arrest Batman and they fail.

Also, Henri Ducard has advice for Bruce on this:

"A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification. He can be destroyed, or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can't stop you, you become something else entirely... A legend, Mr. Wayne."

"Well Done, Son!" Guy: In Bruce's mind his work as Batman for Gotham is simply continuing his father's work of making his home a better place. In the bonus feature's of TDKR dvd, one of the writers states Bruce's thoughts during the end as...

"What I've done is enough. My father would be proud."

Why Did It Have To Be Bats? - As a kid and as a young adult, Bruce was terrified of bats, so it's no accident that the bat became his personal symbol when he began his one-man crusade against crime in Gotham.

Would Hit a Girl: At the very least, Batman would attack a vehicle that has Talia inside of it, with artillery.

Beware the Nice Ones: Alfred knocks out a henchman guarding the burning Wayne Manor in Batman Begins ("I hope you're not a member of the fire brigade") to save Bruce and is revealed to have once been part of a British SAS outfit that burned down a forest to catch a thief in The Dark Knight.

Break His Heart to Save Him: In Rises, he becomes fed up with Bruce's needless self-destructive behavior and refusal of help, and leaves for good as a last-ditch effort to snap Bruce out of it. It doesn't work.

Cool Old Guy: When played by Michael Caine, this is pretty much inevitable.

Deadpan Snarker: Many of his lines are about snarking at Bruce's batman crusade and other issues.

Morality Chain: To Batman; not that Batman isn't a good person, but without Alfred's advice, Batman would go off the rails pretty quickly.

My Greatest Failure: In The Dark Knight Rises, he cries and tells the Wayne family's graves that he failed to protect Bruce, as he believes he deserted Bruce in his hour of need and is indirectly responsible for his death saving Gotham. Fortunately, Bruce reveals he is still alive to Alfred later.

Lucius Fox

A research head at Wayne Enterprises and personal friend of Thomas Wayne. He supplies Batman with all his gadgets and technological advances, later becoming CEO of Wayne Enterprises.

Badass: Shows it in Rises when he's part of the leadership against Bane's warlord regime. He's one of the minuscule few who stand up to Bane directly to his face and live to tell about it, when he initially refuses to cooperate in activating the reactor core until Miranda Tate tells Lucius not to become a Senseless Sacrifice.

Genre Savvy: "Let me get this straight: you think that your client, one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world, is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands; and your plan, is to blackmail this person? Good luck."

By the time Bruce tries out a second flimsy excuse to borrow the prototype gear from Applied Sciences, Lucius figures out that Bruce is up to something and offers his help as long as Bruce doesn't treat him like an idiot, especially since he isn't one.

Honest Corporate Executive: Starting at the end of Begins when he becomes CEO of Wayne Enterprises and highlighted in Dark Knight when he calls Batman's city-wide surveliance system unethical. Fortunately he destroys the system at the end of the movie.

Ironic Echo: In Batman Begins, he is told "Didn't you get the memo?" by William Earle who plans to fire him from Wayne Enterprises. Later, he says the exact same thing to Earle after Lucius takes Earle's job.

Also does an Ironic Echo to Lau in the span of one conversation with him in The Dark Knight.

My Greatest Failure: In the denoument of The Dark Knight Rises, he was adamant to learn whether he could have been able to fix the Bat's autopilot, feeling his removal of it inadvertently caused Bruce's demise. His staff showed that Bruce actually patched it already... cluing to him that He's Just Hiding.

Omnidisciplinary Scientist: As well as engineering Batman's gadgets, he knows enough about toxicology to synthesize an antidote to Scarecrow's fear toxin, and Batman entrusts him with the task of disarming the fusion reactor Bane has turned into a neutron bomb in The Dark Knight Rises.

Secret Keeper: One of five people to know Bruce's secret. He figures it out because of Bruce's 'unusual requests'.

Technological Pacifist: Why he gets along with Bruce so well. Neither of them want Wayne's Enterprises' Applied Sciences material to fall into the wrong hands.

Unflinching Walk: Gets one as he walks away from Batman's sonar-based device which listens in on every phone in Gotham, which is currently shutting itself down apparently permanently after using it to find The Joker.

What the Hell, Hero?: Gives one to Batman himself near the end of The Dark Knight about his methods of finding The Joker; Batman responds by telling him the kill code that will destroy the device once its purpose has been fulfilled.

Lucius: As long as this machine is at Wayne Enterprises, I won't be.

Batman: When you're finished, type in your name.

Dr. Thomas and Martha Wayne

Thomas and Martha Wayne

"And why do we fall, Bruce? So we can learn to pick ourselves up."

"Bruce... don't be afraid."

Played by: Linus Roache & Sara Stewart

The parents of Bruce Wayne, well-known and well-loved billionaires who are tragically cut down by a mugger in front of their young son.

Following Thomas Wayne's death, Earle stepped in as the head of Wayne Enterprises. He had Bruce legally declared dead during his leave of abscence, and has pulled Wayne Enterprises in morally dubious directions. He's fired by Lucius Fox after Wayne makes him CEO.

Corrupt Corporate Executive: Though not really doing anything illegal (that we know of), he's still doing things with the business that Thomas Wayne would not approve of.

Faux Affably Evil: He's doing things with the company that Thomas Wayne wouldn't like, but he's otherwise polite and professional. The exception seems to be Lucius Fox, since they're implied to have a history of not getting along when it comes to running the company.

Jerkass: However, he does his best to avoid getting on Bruce Wayne's bad side, only putting him in Applied Sciences because he specifically mentioned it catching his eye and being genuinely nice towards him for the most part (going so far as to not tell him that Applied Sciences is, in Lucius's words, "dead end"), because he knows that he's a Wayne and would have him removed for crossing him. He finally crosses Bruce when he fires Lucius for asking too many questions about a misplaced microwave emitter, and so he finds himself out of a job the day after the Wayne Manor fire. Clearly, he's the only one who's surprised by this turn of events.

Jerkass Has a Point: While he's definitely in the wrong about a few things, Wayne Enterprises is going under and the company needed a way to survive.

Laser-Guided Karma: For trying to get rid of Lucius, Bruce Wayne is empowered to get rid of him. Didn't you get the memo?

Obstructive Bureaucrat: The threat he posses to Batman; firing Fox and shutting down his 'toy' factory. "Didn't you get the memo?"

What the Hell, Hero?: Chastises Bruce after Bruce yells at all his birthday guests to get out of his house in Batman Begins (it's to save them from death, but nobody knows that), and when Bruce tries to explain that he wasn't referring to him in his drunken speech, he simply retorts, "Like hell!"

Coleman Reese

Coleman Reese

"What are you building for him now... a rocket ship?"

"Sir, I know that Mr. Wayne is curious about how his trust fund gets replenished. But frankly, this is embarrassing."

Played by: Joshua Harto

An accountant at Wayne Enterprises who figures out Batman's true identity after discovering Lucius Fox's original designs for the Tumbler. Unfortunately, this information turns out to be a lot less profitable and a lot more dangerous than he imagined.

Coleman Reese: You wanted me to do the diligence on the LSA Holdings deal, again. Well, I found some irregularities.

Lucius Fox: Yes, their CEO is in police custody.

Coleman Reese: No, not with their numbers; with ''yours'. Applied Sciences - a whole division of Wayne Enterprises - just disappeared, overnight. I went down to the archives and started pulling some old files.

[He produces blueprints of the Batmobile]

Coleman Reese: You're not going to tell me you didn't recognize your baby out there, pancaking cop cars on the evening news. Now you have the entire R&D department burning through cash, claiming that it's related to cell phones for the army? What are you building for him now, a rocket ship? I want $10 million a year, for the rest of my life.

Lucius Fox: Let me get this straight: You think that your client - one of the wealthiest, most powerful men in the world - is secretly a vigilante who spends his nights beating criminals to a pulp with his bare hands, and your plan is to blackmail this person? [chuckles] ...Good luck.

Didn't Think This Through: See above. Blackmailing one of the most powerful men in the world is risky to say the least. Forgetting the entire basis of your blackmail is that he's also a badass vigilante who beats down hardened criminals in his spare time? A major oversight.

He Knows Too Much: The Joker prevents him from revealing Batman's identity, calling for Reese's death in one hour or he will blow up a hospital. But it's clear the Joker was probably going to blow up the hospital regardless.

Heel-Face Turn: He stops trying to blow the Batman's identity when Bruce saves his life. That certainly taught him a lesson in gratitude.

My God, What Did I Almost Do?: After he realises that Bruce, a man he was about to sell out, saved his life regardless, after Bruce uses his Lamborghini to intercept a pickup truck that was trying to ram the police car Reese and Gordon were riding in, Reese's expression is one of surprise and shame.

Secret Keeper: He ends up keeping Batman's identity a secret, after Bruce saves his life despite knowing Reese knew about him.

Slimeball: The black mail scene. He finds who the identity of Gotham's Hope Bringer and his response is extreme personal greed.

Smug Snake: Again, the black mail scene. He was so sure that he had Fox dead to rights that the quick turn around is all the funnier.

Miranda Tate

Miranda Tate

A charming board member of Wayne Enterprises, determined to pull Bruce Wayne out of his 8 years of self-imposed exile. It was said that she was one of the investors for Wayne Enterprises' foray into clean energy technology, and was patiently waiting for its release even when Bruce himself shot it down due to its nuclear warfare potential.

If you've seen the movie, you know the truth about her. For tropes about her as Talia al-Ghul, see the "Spoiler character" section here.

Aunt Pennybags: Miranda uses her wealth to help both Gotham through charities and the world, by trying to solve the energy crisis.

Dissonant Serenity: Among the board members of Wayne Enterprises, notice how she is completely calm when she and Fox walk in to a board of directors meeting only to discover Bane and his men holding the board hostage.

Nice Girl: Miranda uses her wealth to throw parties to raise money for charity, wants to solve the energy crisis, stands up against Bane for her employees' sake when the board is taken hostage (and later pleading for Fox to cooperate with Bane when he threatens to have Barsad shoot Fredericks), and is compassionate towards everyone, especially Bruce.

Rags to Riches: When younger, she was poor and now she is very wealthy.

John Daggett

John Daggett

"Crazy gambling on futures has not only cost Mr. Wayne his seat, it's cost us all a lot of money. And he has to go."

Played by: Ben Mendelsohn

A board member of Wayne Enterprises who hires Bane to aid him in his scheme to bankrupt Bruce Wayne so that he could take it over and access all of its technology. But Bane and his men are just using the resources and infrastructure Daggett provides in order to set up their takeover of the city, and Bane personally kills him off the minute he is no longer needed.

Big Bad Wannabe: Pays Bane "a small fortune" for helping him attempt to take over Wayne Enterprises. Bane later points out that, contrary to what Daggett thinks, this doesn't give him any power over Bane.

Body in a Breadbox: Bane breaks Daggett's neck, then (offscreen) throws his body into a dumpster, as Blake reports to Gordon and Foley when he visits them at the hospital.

Bullying a Dragon: He's remarkably eager to verbally abuse Bane, who is not just a lot bigger and more muscular than Daggett, but could also kill him in a heartbeat without difficulty. Which is exactly what he does.

Corrupt Corporate Executive: Bane and his men attack the Stock Exchange on Daggett's orders to acquire resources and snuff out Wayne Enterprises. The result is that at least seven people who had nothing to do with Daggett get seriously injured or killed (the four guards that Bane brutally overpowers as he enters, and at least three people get shot during the takeover).

Foreshadowing: Notice that Bane kills Daggett right after Miranda Tate is placed on the Wayne Enterprises board. Daggett comes into his death scene complaining about that.

Gory Discretion Shot: When Bane is breaking Daggett's neck, the camera promptly cuts to Stryver as we hear the sound of Daggett whimpering.

It's All About Me: He is willing to destroy the lives of everyone he meets for his own ambition.

Jerkass: Listen to him after Bruce is removed from his seat on the board as a result of Bane's attack on the Stock Exchange, which supplies the image caption above. He acts like Bruce is suddenly beneath his notice and should be thrown out like a rabid dog.

Large Ham: Shouts half his lines. Most of which come from his confrontation with Bane. In this case, it's because Evil Is Hammy.

Non-Action Big Bad: Relies on Bane to do the legwork for him. Of course it turns out Bane was using him the whole time and bumps him off.

Oh, Crap: The look on his face when Bane puts his hand on his shoulder and calmly asks him, "Do you feel in charge?" while expressing exactly how much he does not appreciate Daggett trying to talk down to him. It's said in the novelization that Daggett is recalling Selina Kyle jamming a pistol to his neck earlier, and wishes it had been her who was confronting him instead of Bane.

Rich in Dollars, Poor in Sense: Daggett was living proof that the phrase "If You're so smart, why aren't You rich?" is bullshit. If pissing off Catwoman and backstabbing Batman didn't confirm an absence of brain cells, trying to insult Bane definitely did.

Unwitting Pawn: By using Daggett as a patron, Bane and his men are able to accomplish much of their own plan: they utilize Daggett's construction company and cement plants to rig locations across the city - construction sites, underground sewer and subway tunnels, Heinz Field, and all bridges into and out of Manhattan - with explosive charges to cut the city off from the mainland and trap the police underground. Additionally, Bane and his men commit the Stock Exchange heist to bankrupt Bruce, providing a distraction to place Talia (as Miranda Tate) in charge of Wayne Enterprises.

Oh, Crap: When Selina Kyle tells him that the phone he just used is the Congressman's, which is being traced by the police. As he looks down at the phone, cue the sudden sound of tires screeching to a stop, Selina attacking him and the other thugs in the bar, and a SWAT team storming the place.

TV Tropes is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available from thestaff@tvtropes.org. Privacy Policy